Seaside Stories of Terrible Things
I’ve been to a lot of incredible site specific productions, plays where interaction runs high, or the audience is guided through a fascinating space. Performances where the location is featured to the point that it is part of the cast, or, to put it simply, events which literally could not be presented on stage.
“Seaside Stories of Terrible Things” is not one of those productions. The choice of location is lovely, don’t get me wrong, and it is suitable for performance insomuch as it is a quiet spot off Granville Island’s beaten track (which I imagine is quite tricky to find!). But I would describe this as entry-level site specific: we sit on the grass in a set area and watch the cast (predominantly) in front of us. The use of the steps is clever, and it is of course lovely to be out in nature, but this is otherwise a staged piece of theatre which just happens to be out-of-doors.
Every single audience member I overheard loved the location and found being outside a theatre simply thrilling. If you haven’t dabbled in site-specific before: you should, and this is a great starting point for it. But for those au fait, the use of space is not avant-garde.
The production itself was pleasant. I had (wrongly) braced myself for horror stories and (thankfully) instead I was told dark tales that technically covered murder and betrayal and ghosts, but nothing felt eerie, let alone scary. The narrative style felt Shakespearean at times: lyrical but inaccessible. I was glad to hear the cast clearly throughout (the first danger of outdoor productions). I felt their performances were mixed, with each actor falling flat and capturing my interest at some point during the 30 minute duration. The sudden change in character motivations towards the end greatly caught my interest, and I was pleased with how the cast chose to wrap up the evening. I also thought that lighting was used to great effect throughout.
See this show if you’ve never experienced theatre offstage before, particularly if you fear it’s daunting.
Upcoming performances: 9pm on Sept 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 at Alder Bay’s Secret Staircase (behind Performance Works), Granville Island.